[press release from Liquid Ideas]
Jameson Irish Whiskey continues to affirm its place as one of the country’s major film supporters, announcing a string of film festival sponsorships for the year ahead.
On the back of a great partnership with Bondi Short Film Festival in November 2008, Jameson kicks off 2009 with Flickerfest, Australia’s only Academy accredited short film festival held at Bondi Pavilion from January 9-18. Short film lovers and aficionados will have the opportunity to experience the smooth taste of Jameson Irish Whiskey with their favourite mixer at the Flickerfest bar.
On February 22 Jameson again takes the stage as the official spirit of Tropfest, the world’s largest and best known short film festival. With Tropfest now screened live in six Australian cities, this sponsorship gives the brand national exposure and is proving to be a lucrative partnership.
Jameson is also a major partner of the St Kilda Film Festival, now in its 26th year and running from May 26-31 2009. The Irish Whiskey is also sponsoring Melbourne’s Rooftop Cinema above the popular Cookie Bar running until March 14. The Rooftop Cinema has become one of Melbourne’s ‘must dos’ during summer with more than four months of film classics screened above the city skyline.
As part of its sponsorship of each of the festivals, Jameson will be the exclusive spirit, with mixed Jameson drinks available across all bars. Jameson will also screen the first three short films produced by the whiskey brand’s film production arm – John Jameson Productions.
The three films were written by the winners of the inaugural John Jameson Productions scriptwriting competition, and it is hoped their screenings will inspire other aspiring scriptwriters to enter the 2009 competition.
On a global level, Jameson has long been a supporter of film, sponsoring the Dublin International Film Festival as well as the Independent Spirit Awards in LA.
Jameson Brand Manager Monica Hart said the film festival sponsorships provided the brand with excellent national exposure.
“We are broadening our support of film festivals this year as it’s proven a strong platform to showcase our great tasting product across the bars while at the same time encouraging creative people to engage with Jameson through the John Jameson Productions script-writing competition,” she said.
“The scriptwriting competition really resonated strongly with our consumers and presents a very real opportunity for aspiring writers to get their first break in the film industry which is notoriously difficult to crack.”
Entries for the 2009 competition are now open. Visit www.johnjamesonproductions.com.au for more information.